A Dario Fo adaptation highlights the mess in our political system The message is the medium here,the objective being to draw the audiences attention to the failings of a system that keeps exploiting the common man throughout his life. Ek Aur Durghatna,based on Dario Fo's Accidental Death Of An Anarchist,was staged on April 24 at the Studio Theatre of the Department by first-year students of the Department of Indian Theatre,Panjab University. The director and actors admit that it was challenging to stage the play in just 15 days,though it was mostly a practical analysis of what was learnt in the academic year. It has been a roller-coaster ride but totally fulfilling, says director Rakesh Singh,a professional theatre artist who is now pursuing a degree in theatre. Adapted by Amitabh Shrivastav,the play has been adapted to suit the Indian scenario and all sections of Indian society are probed in detail to bring to the fore the messy political system. Crisp dialogues and live music,with lyrics by Piyush Mishra,bring the play alive. A farce based on a true incident,Fo's play is about a death in police custody that the latter claim to be a suicide while the evidence points towards murder. We have earlier done Macbeth and Trojan Women and now with our adaptation of Fo,it has been a great learning experience,'' says Singh,who feels theatre training is an indispensable part of education and was himself part of the cast of six.
